NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, March 12, 2009

NOTICE

There was no Morning Report yesterday due to an internet connection problem.

INCIDENTS

Shenandoah NP

Rangers Involved In Fatal Shooting

A ranger noted suspicious activity involving a 1999 Ford minivan and its two occupants on Skyline Drive just before 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 8th. The ranger followed, calling in the license plate. The van came back as being associated with an attempted homicide at Fort Eustis, a military installation in eastern Virginia; an advisory said that its occupants should be considered armed and dangerous. The ranger called for backup and continued to follow the van. A second ranger, Virginia State Police troopers and Page County deputies responded. The rangers attempted to stop the van, but the driver, C.L., 25, refused to stop and a 14-mile-long pursuit ensued. Additional troopers and Warren County deputies positioned themselves at the north end of the drive to keep the van from entering the city of Front Royal, and another ranger placed a spike strip at the entrance station to deflate the van's tires. The van's tires blew out when it hit the strip, but it continued on until it struck a non-police vehicle. As officers approached the stopped van, they saw that C.L. had a firearm. Shots were fired and C.L. was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger inside the minivan sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the shooting. Investigators are continuing with evidence collection and analysis and are awaiting lab results on toxicology and ballistics tests. The trooper and rangers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave with pay on Sunday pending the outcome of internal agency investigations into the matter, which is in accordance with standard Virginia State Police and National Park Service policies. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Park Service and Virginia State Police are conducting the joint investigation. Also assisting with the case is the United States Attorney's Office of the Western District and officials from Fort Eustis, an Army facility in eastern Virginia. [Corinne Geller, Virginia State Police; Barb Stewart, Public Information Officer, Shenandoah NP]

Death Valley NP

Three Suffer Minor Injuries In Helicopter Crash

An MD-500D helicopter operated as a civil aircraft crashed into the side of Rogers Peak in the Panamint Mountains on the morning of Saturday, March 7th. There were injuries but no fatalities. The three occupants of the aircraft were airlifted by a helicopter from China Lake Naval Air Station to the Ridgecrest Regional Hospital, where they were treated and released. The helicopter was transporting personnel and equipment to repair the NPS repeater on Rogers Peak. There were no NPS personnel on the flight. The cause of the crash is still under investigation. Since this was an end product contract for maintenance of the repeater, the NTSB will post any further information on the mishap to their web site as it is released. Death Valley rangers coordinated the rescue and recovery efforts with China Lake NAS. Ranger Matt Martin served as incident commander. [Brad Pennington, Chief Ranger; Clay Hillin, Aviation Manager, Pacific West Region]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:

Office of Public Affairs - National Park Week 2009 will take place from April 18th to April 26th this year, with Junior Ranger Day on April 25th. In recognition of the 170,000 annual volunteers who assist the National Park Service, the theme is community service.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7439" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7439

Fire and Aviation Management - The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a voluntary recall for a number of refrigerators due to a problem with their compressors overheating.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7438" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7438

Department of the Interior - Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has named Will Shafroth, a land conservationist executive and founding director of the Colorado Conservation Trust and Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund, as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The appointment does not require Senate confirmation.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2262" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2262

* * * * *

Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363

Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

--- ### ---